CAST OFF!

11 January 2008 | Nassau, Bahamas

Nathalie

CAST OFF THE LINES!
That is it! We departed this morning at 6:30 am from Tavernier, our hometown, to the Bahamas, Nassau then Georgetown in the Exumas. This is a well known route to us since we went there almost every summer the last five years.
The kids of the street came, as they promised, at 5:30am! They said their goodbyes to Emilie and Alec, it was so nice, they really like each other a lot and it was very emotional. We crossed Snake Creek Bridge at 7:00 am and there were Pam and Sara waving "bon Voyage", we will miss them so much!
Too many tears so early in the morning...
It is now 3pm and we are almost across the Gulf Stream heading for South Riding Rock. We will continue on the bank overnight and then to Nassau. We had light winds (Luckily since we are motoring right into it, what is new, I can't wait to go in the direction of the Trade Winds, One day...) and a beautiful blue sky with almost no clouds!!
It is TRUE, I cannot believe it, we are on the first day of our Adventure and I am so Happy!!!!GRAND DEPART!
Ca y est, nous sommes partis a 6h30 ce matin de notre maison a Tavernier pour la premiere etape, Georgetown ,dans les iles Exumas des Bahamas. Nos petits voisins (5) sont tous venus nous dire au revoir a 5h30 du matin, je n'en croyais pas mes yeux, cela a beaucoup compte pour Emilie et Alec a qui ils vont bien manquer. Puis en passant sous le pont de Snake Creek Bridge, Pam et Sara etaient la aussi pour nous souhaiter "Bon Voyage".
Ces derniers jours de preparatifs ont ete epuisants et j'ai passť la premiere partie du voyage a dormir! Je serai donc fraiche pour prendre mon tour de veille ce soir et laisser David se reposer.
Difficile a croire, notre reve se realize enfin et nous voila au premier jour de ce nouveau depart, quel Bonheur!
Pour cette premiere traverse, nous avons un beau ciel bleu sans nuages et un vent leger (tant mieux puisque l'on ne peut pas naviguer, nous allons bien sur a l'Est d'ou le vent souffe!, nous utilisons donc les moteurs a environ 7-8 noeuds). Nous continuerons toute la nuit et demain jusqu'a Nassau pour ensuite descendre le long des iles Exumas jusqu'a Gorgetown.

Our first catamaran was a Manta 42. She was built in St Petersburg and we went to pick her up in November 2000.
We spent every summer cruising the Beautiful Bahamas islands (700) from the busy Nassau harbor (We never stay more than 2 or 3 days)to the more remote islands like the crooked islands or the ragged islands (also known as the Jumentos and the friendliest of all , Long Island. We never got tired of the turquoise waters , the kindness of the Bahamians and all the fun we had with all the friends we made over the years.